Identification of the trail-following pheromone receptor in termites.

ABSTRACT: Pheromone communication is the cornerstone of eusocial insect societies since it mediates the social hierarchy, division of labor, and concerted activities of colony members. The current knowledge on molecular mechanisms of social insect pheromone detection by odorant receptors (ORs) is limited to bees and ants, while no OR was yet functionally characterized in termites, the oldest eusocial insect clade. Here, we present the first OR deorphanization in termites. We selected four OR sequences from the annotated antennal transcriptome of the termite Prorhinotermes simplex (Psammotermitidae), expressed them in Empty Neuron Drosophila, and functionally characterized them using single sensillum recording (SSR). For one of the selected ORs, PsimOR14, we obtained strong responses to

SUBMITTER: Diallo S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12364489 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature